No Room for Doubt
by ANGSWIN
Summary: Whenever she struggled, whenever she wavered, whenever she doubted, He came to her at night in her dreams...Written by request for the 2017 Narnia Fic Exchange


This story was written by request for **hydrangea**. She asked for the following:

" _I would love a story that features Lucy and Aslan's relationship. A time that Lucy doubted perhaps, or a time that she was particularly close to him. Her joy at seeing him, her doubt in him perhaps not being what she had thought him to be. How things changes as she grows, how things differ in England..."_

I think that I managed to hit upon all of these points in one way or the other. ;)

* * *

 _ **No Room For Doubt**_

Whenever she struggled, whenever she wavered, whenever she doubted, _He_ came to her at night in her dreams. His large paws, strong yet silent, padded towards her. His eyes, pools of warmth and understanding, bore into hers. His voice, deep and rich, rumbled every time with the exact same words. _"There is no room for doubt, Lucy – Daughter of Eve. When you believe in yourself, by extension you also believe in me. All will be well, dear one!"_ These nocturnal visitations never failed to soothe her or to put her mind at ease. Lucy always awoke from these dreams with a renewed sense of well-being and her world would steady itself.

* * *

Queen Lucy the Valiant wasn't feeling very _valiant_ at the moment. She just wasn't sure what to do about Prince Vintu and his offer of marriage. She liked him very well as a friend and they had practically grown up together since he was from Celatu, the small kingdom located between Narnia and their friends in Archenland. His father, King Trentu, was even one of the High King Peter's staunchest allies. Unfortunately, however, Lucy knew that she did not love Vintu in a way that a wife should love her husband. She did not want to lose Vintu's friendship, though, nor cause problems between their kingdoms - so that was when the doubt set in. However, her brothers and sister refused to counsel her on this situation, telling her that only she could make such a decision – and that she should follow her heart. They reassured her that they would stand behind her no matter what, but still she struggled.

 _He_ came to her one night in her dreams _. "There is no room for doubt, Lucy – Daughter of Eve."_

Queen Lucy awoke in the morning with clear knowledge of what she must do. She arranged to meet Prince Vintu and told him the truth. She assured him that she valued his friendship and hoped to salvage it, but that she could not marry him - for she did not love him. Much to her surprise, the Prince accepted this news happily. For, although he liked her very much, as well, his heart belonged to another. He had only made the offer of marriage at his father's insistence that she would be expecting it after so many years of friendship and he could not bear the thought of hurting or disappointing her in such a way. Thus, their friendship and alliance was able to overcome this little hurdle and remained strong for many years to come.

* * *

Lucy curled up in her bed with her arms wrapped miserably around her small frame. It had been several weeks after their return to their own time and place in England and she felt like a stranger in her own skin. Where had her womanly curves gone? Had they ever been there in the first place? She felt damaged and displaced with such a vast gulf between her memories and her reality. She also felt so alone, since by some sort of unspoken agreement, her brothers and sister did not, or perhaps could not, bring themselves to speak of their change of circumstances. Therefore, Lucy couldn't be sure any more. Had any of it actually happened? Was any of it real? Or was the adult Lucy that she remembered just a fantasy?

 _He_ came to her one night in her dreams. _"When you believe in yourself, by extension you also believe in me."_

She awoke in the morning and felt led to act. Therefore, she went straight to her sister's room. She sat on Susan's bed, held her hand, and told her that it was time to speak of Narnia. This simple action breached the dam behind which their feelings had been hiding…and speak they did. They soon realized that when they shared their burden, their unhappiness and shock at finding themselves as children again was made easier to bear. They then proceeded to lighten the darkness that surrounded their brothers' feelings about this, as well. In time, they were all able to heal the emotional scars as they slowly grew back into the adult bodies that they had known and loved in the land that their hearts still called home.

* * *

Lucy had been back in England for some time after her voyage on the _Dawn Treader_. However, she found that she had once again sunk into despair. Now that she knew that she would never go back to Narnia, she found it difficult to find the joy in life that had once come so easily to her. She especially missed _Him_. He had said that He was present in her world, as well, but that He went by another name. If that was true, why did it seem so hard to find Him?

 _He_ came to her one night in her dreams _. "All will be well, dear one!"_

Lucy awoke to the sound of the bells from the cathedral and she smiled. Somehow, at that moment, all had become clear. She knew exactly who He was and where to find Him. She arose quickly to dress and to fetch her siblings. They had a church service to attend and an old friend with whom to become reacquainted.

* * *

Lucy was confused. One moment she was on a train and in the next one she suddenly found herself standing with Peter and Edmund in the beautiful countryside. Digory, Polly, Eustace, and Jill were there, as well. As she stood in the Stable That Was Not with her family and friends, her heart and soul sang because they knew she had finally returned to Narnia again. However, at the same time she was bewildered and she doubted the reason for her presence there - especially since she remembered His last words to her at the End of the World all too well. Those words, "You will never come back to Narnia," had haunted her as they echoed through her mind with some frequency - even though it had been many years since He had actually spoken them.

It was then that _He_ came to her. In fact, He came to all of them. However, this time it was not night, and she was not dreaming. This time she was wide awake as He stood before her in the warm sunlight. However, His large paws, strong yet silent, still padded towards her. His eyes, pools of warmth and understanding, still bore into hers. His voice, deep and rich, still rumbled with the familiar words – only slightly changed by time. _"There is no longer room for doubt, Lucy – Daughter of Eve. You have believed in yourself, by extension you have also believed in me. NOW all will be well, dear one!"_

She fell upon Him then and hugged Him with all of her might as she buried her hands into His thick tawny mane and kissed His velvety nose. She felt His warmth and love surround her and she felt comforted in a way that she had not felt for years – except in her dreams. She had finally come home to Aslan _forever_ and she knew that she would never have room for doubt in her heart again. It was just too full of joy and love – and it would now stay that way for all eternity!


End file.
